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Can I sue my landlord for doing thermaheat and damaging my piano and computers and only gave less than 48 hours notification?

Santa Monica, CA | February 3, 2012 12:15am

The landlord asking us to evacuate less than 48 hours while there are still many valuable things that need to be prepared before therma treatment.
Therma company don't want to be responsible on the damages since they have given warning on what to do prior to treatment. But my piano and computers and harddrive are broken because of this treatment. My unit is clean from bedbugs and termites but because they want to do treatment they only gave me written notice less than 48 hours. Not enough time to prepare and now who should be responsible on the damages? the piano is close to 10k and computers are about 4k.
They would like to do another treatment again in the building and what should I do to prevent another damages? Can I not let them in into my unit?

If there was so much damage, it sounds like they were negligent in how they went about the work. Ask the landlord to talk to the company who did the work. They may have insurance that will cover the damage. You can let the landlord know that if they don't, you will seek damages from him for the damage. Its better if he is motivated to try and get the contractor to pay for the damages they created.

Yes, you can sue. You didn't really describe how the piano and computers were damaged, but your uphill battle is to prove (1) causation, and (2) damages. Are these items repairable? Or a total loss? How will you prove value? Will you be able to explain to the judge how you would not have been damaged to the same extent if you have been given MORE than 48 hours notice?

The information presented here is general in nature and is not intended, nor should be construed, as legal advice. This posting does not create any attorney-client relationship with the author (who is only admitted to practice law in the State of California). For specific advice about your particular situation, consult your own attorney.